Deakin study brings climate activism into the classroom

The move follows a shift in focus by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), of which Australia is a member, to prioritise socio-ecological competencies in school science programmes to better equip young people for the world they will inherit.

Associate Professor Peta White of Deakin's Centre for Research for Educational Impact in the School of Education said changes to the national curriculum in 2022 put a greater emphasis on climate change, but it was still rarely mentioned in the science curriculum and infrequently taught in schools.

Her OECD-contracted report, conducted in partnership with colleagues from the Universities of Waikato, Florida and Stanford University, will inform the next Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) science test with more climate change relevant competencies. This test is due to be administered by the OECD to 15-year-olds next year.

It is anticipated reforming the PISA Science Framework 2025 will galvanise OECD nations such as Australia to undertake greater curriculum policy reform so learning programmes that enhance students' problem-solving skills and preparedness to tackle socio-ecological challenges are prioritised.

Associate Professor White said this would ensure the Australian curriculum performs well in international comparisons and that Australian students are better prepared for the challenges of an uncertain future.

'This is not about replacing physics with teaching students how to be a climate protestor – it is about creating a deeper learning within the current education model that equips students to be more empowered and effective climate actors,' Associate Professor White said.

'Students may learn aspects of climate change in subjects such as geography, technology, history, science, English and art, depending on their teachers' professional preferences. But learning about climate change is one thing; knowing what to do about it is another.

'We know it is critical to develop the hands-on skills that support young people to learn how to practice environmental sustainability and how to change social systems to be more ecologically savvy. This is important because the challenges that might be the most essential for them to resolve in 10-20 years' time might not be known today.'

The PISA is administered internationally every three years to measure and compare students’ competency in reading, maths and science.

Strong performance is widely believed to be a good barometer of a nation's future economic prospects, and past results revealed environmental knowledge, attitudes and actions are lacking and unevenly distributed across nations. This prompted the OECD to seek a new set of competencies to be tested in the Science focussed PISA 2025.

Associate Professor White said school learning activities could include students using science to identify and research local socio-ecological challenges and then enacting informed political activism through lobbying and community advocacy.

This might range from letter writing to local government and MPs to developing school environmental policies and initiating community sustainability programs.

'Students could give presentations and create newsletter articles and posters on their community's role in clean energy transitions, while in the process fostering traditional learning outcomes parents value from their education such as teamwork, creative and critical thinking, reading, writing and other key science concepts,' Associate Professor White said.

'Students could also work together to design and build a new biodiverse garden, for example, applying practices from science, mathematics, English, technology and the arts. This has the potential to make science wonderfully transdisciplinary while supporting students to solve important and pressing socio-ecological challenges.

'As the fallout of socio-ecological challenges become more apparent, we need to consider if our educational system prepares young people to address problems related to how we generate energy, produce food, process waste, manage materials and design our communities.

'We know the magnitude of the climate crises can lead to eco-anxiety. But we also know that hope for the future is often strongly linked to a sense of agency or knowing how to act and what to do about it.'

A Personal View on this research, Agency in the Anthropocene: education for planetary health, was published in The Lancet Planetary Health. Read the full article here.